The Wailers

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Wailers, later Bob Marley and the Wailers, was a Jamaican group for ska, rocksteady and reggae. It was formed in 1963 when the self-taught Peter Tosh met the singers Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley. First they were called the Teenagers, then the Wailing Rudeboys and the Wailing Wailers, before they arrived at the Wailers. In 1964 Simmer Down was at the top of the Jamaican chart. The song was recorded at Studio One, with the rhythm section of the Skatalites, and called on Jamaica's rude boys to calm their anger. It contributed to Jamaican music no longer imitating foreign artists, but capturing the life and spirit of Jamaica.

Music and breakthrough

The first album, The Wailing Wailers, appeared in 1965. In 1970 and 1971 they worked with the producers Leslie Kong and Lee Scratch Perry, with Perry's studio band the Upsetters. In 1972 they signed with Island Records. In 1973 Catch a Fire and Burnin' followed. Tosh and Wailer left in 1974 because of dissatisfaction with the label and ideological differences. Marley continued with a new line-up, including the I-Threes, and died of cancer in 1981, after which the group stopped. Well-known songs are Trenchtown Rock, Stir It Up, Get Up, Stand Up and I Shot the Sheriff.

Influence

The Wailers brought reggae to the world. Their music rests on a heavy, melodic bass and on short guitar accents on the offbeat, with voices singing about injustice, freedom and everyday life. In this way reggae went from being a Jamaican style to an international sound, and Marley became one of the most famous pop figures in the world.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1965The Wailing Wailers
• 1973Burnin’
• 1973Catch a Fire
• 1991Rastaman I-Tation
• 2001Trenchtown Rocking

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 6: Fear of a Black Planet^NL Reader